 Pat Wimpee |
Hasselblad cameras Does anyone have any info on russian hasselblad cameras? Someone has approached me wanting to sell his studio equipment. He has 2 of them, but I am unsure if they are as good as reg hasselblads? I'd appreciate any input. Thanks, Pat
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Mark Feldstein |
Howdy Pat. I'm almost thrilled someone is asking about a medium format camera around here. I almost passed out when I saw your question. LOL !! You're talking about the "Kiev" cameras, I assume. They're ok, but they're no substitute for Hasselblad for a lot of reasons. For example, the individual components of all Hasselblad magazines, the film insert and the magazine itself, are mechanically matched to each other by serial number and assembled at the factory to work in conjunction with each other. While Kiev parts are knockoffs of Hassie, they're not nearly as precisely made. The same is true of things like lens mounting flanges, shutter parts, etc. Insofar as lenses themselves are concerned, Hasselblad lenses are made by Zeiss. I think they're hard to beat. Kiev lenses? Who knows. Are they as sharp as Zeiss? Not nearly so, IMHO. I also understand that getting good repairs for a Kiev is a royal pain and they need it frequently. Hassselblads are precise and well-built out of quality metal to keep working under the best and worst of circumstances. I can attest to that. Since I use my Hasselblads on a nearly daily basis and I have no plan to sell any of them, I haven't been watching the market too closely. But two years ago I picked up two extra bodies at really reasonable prices from KEH.com. I rotate the bodies once a year throgh the shop for preventive maintenance, CLA stuff. Film mags have come down also (go figure), as have some accessories including viewfinders, etc. Side by side, you'll find parts on Hassies fit together precisely, from lens locks to viewfinders. The prism meter viewfinders are extremely accurate and the film plane is precisely set when the magazine is attached to the camera body no matter which body you happen to be using. The interchangability is really precise and important, of course, from lenses to mags to viewfinders. Would I own a Kiev? No. At the time they came out, they were intended as a substitute for Hassies in the USSR because they wouldn't allow Hasselblads to be imported from Sweden. Politics being what they are nowadays, I think from a lot of perspectives, you'll be much better off to accept no substitutes. If you want advice on which equipment to score or whether to buy a particular model, drop me a note and tell me what you plan to use it for or which one you intend to score and I'll be glad to help you out. I have to tell you (again in my opinion) that once you've moved up to medium format and Hasselblad and seen the quality of images they produce, even the polaroid test shots they help create, it's unlikely you'll ever regret owning one. Speaking of owning, rent one first for a weekend or two with a couple of lenses, say a 50mm distagon and try some landscapes and 150 mm Sonnar shoot some portraits. I'd guess you'll see what I mean. Take a landscape transparency shot with a Hasselblad, have it scanned at high resolution without photoshopping it, have it enlarged to say 24 x 36 or even larger and see what you think. BTW, there's a whole section devoted to Hasseblad at APUG.org and check out Hasselbladusa.com. They still promote work with their film equipment. Anything else you want to know about them just let me know. I've been shooting with Hassies since 1984. :>) (YIKES !!) Still have my first 500C. It was made in 1963 and it still works perfectly. Do I love them? Well, some will disagree with me in that these cameras won't replace night baseball or great sex but I think they're here to stay.
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Pat Wimpee |
Thanks, Mark for your EXTREMELY informative post. That's kind of what I was afraid of, that it wasn't a good of quality. Renting a hasselblad is a great idea tho. I guess I'll keep saving and go for the real thing. If I run across a used one, I'll definately take you up on asking about it. Thanks again, Pat
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Mark Feldstein |
My pleasure Pat. You're quite welcome, any time. As I said, take a look at KEH.com, even e-bay. If you see something you're interested in, let me know and I'll tell you what I think. You can probably pick up a 500cm pretty reasonably, a clean A-12 film magazine for about $75 bucks, a working Polaroid back for about the same, and a 60mm along with a 150mm lens, both for less than $500 each. M.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Didn't know Hasselblads were from Swergie.
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Melissa Defernandez |
Hi I would mostly agree with Mark as he has some great advice there but if you can get the camera quite cheap then you can try it out and see what you think. Maybe ask to run a roll of film through one and get that processed before making any decisions. Those sort of Russian cameras were known for not being too reliable and for parts being hard to find. As with many things, you get what you pay for and a Hasselblad is a finely crafted enduring camera. If you want to try medium format on a budget you would be a lot better off buying a Mamiya 645 or a Bronica which can be found for a few hundred dollars. I have a YashicaMat TLR which is an even cheaper way of getting into medium format but of course with this model you are stuck with the standard lens and some people don't like the handling of a TLR. I just bought one for the enjoyment of using medium format and indeed it is very enjoyable. It is a great conversation starter at the very least! I too hope one day to own a Hasselblad.
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